A good Austen novel, but the real question is, is it better than Pride and Prejudice? I'm probably very biased having watched at least two movie adaptations of the P&P, but I'd probably say no. I do like that the main character is 27 (basically decrepit by Regency era standards). The build-up of romance is vaguely there throughout the book but some of it is implied as happening in the past, while with P&P you get to read through it all, so I think that's why I like it better.